Stay Home Stay Safe

Who doesn’t need safety?
We human beings need safety and protection from fire, floods, extremes of weather and the like.
Nations need safety and security on many fronts namely economy, energy, food, water and health.
And more recently, humankind needs safety from Covid-19. Not just individuals, families, nations but the whole world!
Covid has taught us Stay Home Stay Safe.

What if you don’t have a home?
Two kittens, few days old, gave us the answer. Make the earth your home. See them cozying up in the window grill in our verandah in Secunderabad India. Their determined effort and dealing with the unknown, prompted me to write this story.

They felt safe in the confines of the metal grill on one side and the glass on the other. Of course their furry bodies touching each other, added to their security.

Covid-19 has forced us to stay home to stay safe.
While at home, observe the world around you and enjoy the lockdown. You may like to browse our recent story titled ‘Lockdown is..’

Once again, stay home stay safe folks.
Thanks for browsing.

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 26th April 2020

#lockdown #coronavirus #beattheboredom #stayhomestaysafe #enjoythelockdown #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #homebirding #gardening #golfchippingathome #earthishealing #plantsarebestgifts
#kittens #explore #makeahome #staytogether #courage #unknownfrontiers

Foxtail Millet KBG-33 Answer

"Oh, that's easy", said many of you!
And typed 'Millet' as the answer to KBG-33. But as we all know, there are numerous varieties of millets. Other answers included Jowar or sorghum, Corn, Bajra, and Wheat. So, what is the correct and complete name of the plant shown in KBG-33?

The correct answer is 'Foxtail Millet'. Foxtail because its cob or fruit or seeds hang like the tail of a fox! According to ENVIS Centre on Medicinal Plants, Foxtail Millet is also known as:
German Millet
Hungarian Millet
Italian Millet
Millet Spray
Foxtail Bristle Grass

Names in other languages
It is known as Bertia in Hindi; Panico Degli Uccelli in Italian; Awa in Japanese; Sekui in Malaysia; Pabbio Coltivato in Switzerland; dzo in Korean; Morap in Russian and Mijo De Italia in Spanish. Readers may browse HealthBenefitTimes.com for more details. In Telugu it is called 'Korra'. 

Scientific Name
The scientific name is Setaria Italica (L) BEAUV. Ghumakkad has no knowledge of botany. The credit for all this research goes to Dr Chitra Shanker. 

Health Benefits
Foxtail Millet is rich in Vit B1, fiber and other nutrients. It has been in use in China, East Asia and Europe for centuries. Readers may refer healthbenfits.com for its nutritional value and number of health benefits.

How did Ghumakkad spot this grass and its seed? Well we don't eat this millet (we do eat the green millet or bajra as it is called in Hindi) at home. However, we have been using Foxtail Millet seeds for feeding the White Throated Munias or Indian Silverbill Munias in our bird feeder for last several years. See the picture of the seeds and a Munia.

It is interesting to note that these tiny birds break open every single seed and discard the shell. All this happens multiple times in a second. And when tens of Munias do this for few hours every day, we have a layer of shells inside our yard. See the next picture.

Few seeds fall down without being eaten by the Munias. It is one of these seeds which germinated and grew into a Foxtail Millet plant that caught my eye. And the idea of KBG-33 was born! See the leaves of the plant.

We had done two exclusive stories on the Munias in our yard. Here are the links:
Friendly Munias
Feeding the Munias - at that time in 2015, we mistook the Foxtail Millet as the Green Millet!

Videos
You may like to see two short video clips of Munias feeding in our house in Secunderabad India.

In the second video, you can see fantastic teamwork by the Munias.

Winners of KBG-33
Corona lockdown did not hamper the spirit of KBG participants. We had more than 300 online participants with 20 correct answers. First three correct answers came within 15 minutes. Is it a coincidence that all three winners are women? Perhaps they are more environment conscious than men! Well, we will leave that debate to some other time.

Congratulations to the winners of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad KBG-33:

1. G Ratnaja PhD, Former Professor IBS Hyderabad and former Program Lead, Technology Entrepreneurship Program at Indian School of Business Hyderabad. Creative teacher, painter and nature lover she lives in Hyderabad.
2. Rashmi Bhargava MA(English Honours) loves reading, gardening and travelling. Lives in Sikar Rajasthan.
3. Anshu Bhargava CA is a fitness enthusiast, keen traveller and nature lover. Lives in Secunderabad.

As we said, the Munias also teach us teamwork. See the last picture.

We will bring you more stories to keep your mind off Corona. Stay connected.

Thanks for browsing

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 21st April 2020

With research guidance from Dr Chitra Shanker

#kbgcontest #kaunbanegaghumakkad #foxtailmillet #medicinalplants #powerofobservation #silverbillmunia #whitethroatedmunia #birds #birdfeed #millets #fiberrichdiet #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #nature #plants #environment

Identify KBG-33

You would have seen it.
For sure.
Grows abundantly.
In larger part of the globe.
All Nature lovers, this one is specially for you.
KBG-33 is here. Your favourite online contest Kaun Banega Ghumakkad.
Shoot!

Actually this one doesn't need any clue.
But here is another visual for you.

Come on shoot fast. First three correct answers will be announced as Winners!

For first timers on KBG, you can respond on any of the channels below:

1. Leave a comment on this post
2. Send email to hbindia@gmail.com
3. Respond on FB
4. Comment on Instagram @ghumakkadhb 
5. Send a WA message. If you want your WA number to be added to Ghumakkad's list, send an email.

The KBG Contest timing is chosen to suit most of the time zones across the world.

Hope we helped you in overcoming the lockdown boredom to some extent. KBG-32 which featured a 3D painting in Stanford Museum of Art USA, evoked slow but prolonged response. Probably Google didn't help much. That's why there was only one winner.

Thanks for your participation which keeps KBG alive!

Stay home, stay safe.


   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/18th April 2020

#nature #plants #trees #naturephotography #travelisfun #funwithtravel #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #KBG #kaunbanegaghumakkad #onlinecontest #powerofobservation #lockdownfunathome #beatthecorona #lockdown #stayhomestaysafe

Lockdown Is ...

"How did Ghumakkad the wanderer survive being locked down?"
"No hiking, no travelling, no golfing, no swimming?"
"No safari in Wildlife Parks?"
 "Didn't you feel stifled?"

These questions and more came from many friends. Yes, Ghumakkad also followed the 'stay home stay safe' dictum like all of you. However, Ghumakkad managed to live the lockdown in an enjoyable manner. Free of anxiety, tension and boredom. How? Read on.

This post is a series of pictures and videos with the theme 'Lockdown is ...". All shot during last three weeks in the confines of our home in Secunderabad India. Many of you did much more during the lockdown. Feel free to share a picture or two of your activities. We will keep appending to this story.

Lockdown Is ...
Feeling the adrenaline when a 90-year old applauds the Corona Warriors.

You can see my mother-in-law using her puja bell to applaud the Corona Warriors in the short video clip below.

Gardening and its thrills

Learning to Cook

Teaching On-line
Ghumakkad conducted online classes for his PGDM students during the lockdown. It was a great experience. A glimpse.

Old Pastimes

The next thing to do was connect online. Online tambola became a regular affair at 10 AM IST to suit both India and US time zones.

Ansh, our eldest grandson who is learning to play piano shared his recent piece. Enjoy the short video recorded during the lockdown. He is so humble that he doesn't want the camera on himself!

Like all Fauzis, we love our shoes! See the picture below.

Power of a Flower

Eating Grapes

Telangana Govt Initative

Super Moon

Wild Grass

Home Birding

We are blessed to have many species in our enclave. Sitting in our verandah, we could see Purple Sunbirds, Golden Oriole, Indian Robin, Ashy Prinia, Red Vented Bulbuls, Asian Koel, Spotted Dove, Silverbill Munia, Scaly Breasted Munia, Bea Eaters, Black Drongo, White Browed Wagtail and few more. However, am not including the pictures to avoid clutter. Instead am sharing two video clips. The first clip is the musical call of a Golden Oriole.

The next clip of just 4 seconds is of an Indian Robin who had nested in our bird house in the verandah.

You may browse our earlier story by clicking the link 'Friendly Munias'.

Golf Chipping

For my golfing buddies, here is a short video clip of chipping practice at home.

Earth is Healing

Hope this story helped you to beat the lockdown boredom. Do share your pictures to add to the story.

When will Ghumakkad get back to the Golf course to enjoy the magical dawn?

Or, when will we see a movie in our open air theatre at RSI again?

All we can say, it will happen soon!
Together we shall overcome and emerge stronger.
Stay home and stay safe.
Enjoy the lockdown like we did.

Special thanks to Neeta for taking my pictures and to all the friends who had gifted plants which continue to thrive in our small garden. Grateful indeed.

Thanks for browsing

     - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/15th April 2020
#lockdown #coronavirus #beattheboredom #stayhomestaysafe #enjoythelockdown #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #homebirding #gardening #wildflowers #wildgrass #cooking #homegrownveggies #golfchippingathome #earthishealing #plantsarebestgifts